This invention is related to filtering devices for removing paper dust and computer chemicals such as developer, toner, carbon black and residues dispersed into the air in a data processing room by the operation of various paper handling machines, such as computer printers; and more particularly to a filter apparatus housing having a removable top cover with an outlet grille opening and a squirrel cage fan suspended from the cover for passing filtered air through the grille, and a vacuum sweeper attacment connected to the filter housing for collecting floor contaminants.
Data processing rooms can be environmentally harmful to both the personnel and the equipment because of the material discharged in the air by high speed paper handling machines. Certain machines in computer rooms are very dirty. For example, it is often very difficult to prevent the toner and developer from high speed laser printers from being discharged into the surrounding air when dry ink is inserted into the machine. The developer tends to collect on the computer room floor. Laser printers develop a residue during the printing and "fusing" stages. They also create paper dust as do impact printers. Such machines frequently have inadequate internal filtering systems, and usually no facilities for disposing of toner and developer spillage. The problem is aggravated because the machines are usually in a closed, air conditioned room having a controlled environment.
Certain computer printer developers include fine iron filings. Machines having disk and tape drives and located in the same room must be taken off-line and internally cleaned because the abrasive carbon black and paper dust cause head crash and disk interference. This requires expensive service calls from the manufacturers' field engineers.
Locating a high speed printer away from the other equipment in the computer room is not the solution since toner and developer particles have been found to settle on computer screens located as far as 48 feet from the printer.
Further, such airborne developer and toner particles are inhaled by the computing room staff. Some employees work around such printers seven days a week so that their normal body defense mechanisms may not be sufficient to prevent damage from such airborne particles. The air conditioning systems are believed to spread such particulates throughout the computing center.
Although little is known about the long range impact of such contaminants on personnel, some of the chemicals emitted by the printers are known to cause skin rashes, burning eyes and throat irritation.